Chelsea lock horns with Real Madrid in the second-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening under the floodlights
Chelsea will be looking to progress to the final of the UEFA
Champions League for the first time since 2012 and book a date with Manchester
City when they face Real Madrid in the second-leg of their semi-final showdown
this evening, kick-off 8:00pm.
The Blues, who bolstered their
prospects of finishing inside the top-four in the Premier League this season
with a 2-0 win over west London rivals Fulham on Saturday, know that a
clean-sheet this evening would be enough to get the job done, after the
first-leg ended 1-1 in Spain last week.
A draw at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium ensured Chelsea
enter tonight’s clash in the driving seat after Christian Pulisic netted a
massive away goal. However, a momentary lapse of concentration could cost the
Blues dearly after Karim Benzema’s stunning hit ensured Madrid got themselves
back in the tie.
In the first leg, Madrid boss Zinedine
Zidane almost matched his side up like-for-like with Chelsea, ditching his
usually preferred 4-3-3 system and opting to go to a 3-5-2. At the weekend
against Osasuna, he reverted back to the 4-3-3, meaning it remains to be seen
what he will do at Stamford Bridge.
For Tuchel, though, it will all rest on the
availability of Sergio Ramos and Ferland Mendy.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, Tuchel has delivered largely positive news on the injury front, confirming that Mateo Kovacic is the only player who will miss out, meaning Antonio Rudiger is set to return after missing the win over Fulham on Saturday.
That means that Tuchel could face a difficult call when
deciding on his defensive trio, with Kurt Zouma, Thiago Silva and Andreas
Christensen all contributing towards a clean-sheet at the weekend. But with
Rudiger poised to be available, one of those three could drop out.
Elsewhere, Tuchel will have a difficult decision to make at
the top end of the pitch, with Pulisic pushing for a recall. Given that Havertz
netted a brace against the Cottagers and Timo Werner is continuing to struggle
for goals, Havertz could line-up as the false nine and Pulisic replaces Werner.
Meanwhile, the
likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho will be pushing for
recalls.
Full Chelsea squad available to face Real
Madrid:
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga,
Willy Caballero & Edouard Mendy.
Defenders: Reece James, Cesar
Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma,
Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso & Emerson.
Midfielders: Callum Hudson-Odoi,
Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kante, Billy Gilmour, Mason Mount, Kai
Havertz, Faustino Anjorin & Jorginho.
Strikers: Tammy Abraham, Timo Werner &
Olivier Giroud.
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